Your EBook is Reading You

[keriflur]

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doncr wrote:

I don't see how sideloaded content saves you.  

If I control what is running on your device and can run whatever software on it that I choose, I could scan the metadata in any epub/pdf you have anywhere on your device, and track how you access that content if you're using one of my readers to view it.  

Even if you choose to use a third-party reader app, I can still track the OS calls that would open and close those files.  Or I could have a look at what that third-party app does with a debugger when it displays a page, then I'd know when you were reading and how many pages per hour.  It's not rocket science if I own the OS and connection you're making to the Internet.  All of this info could simply be cached on your device and then sent to me the next time you turned on the wi-fi.

Unless you're replacing the entire OS and using someone else's reader software (who could also collect this data and market it to the highest bidder), you're at the mercy of the operating system and whatever it's capable of doing without your knowledge.

I'd like an opt-out option.

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If you sideload all your content, you never need to connect to the internet.

[doncr]

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keriflur wrote:

If you sideload all your content, you never need to connect to the internet.

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Well sure, if you never turn on the wi-fi, it's going to make it really hard for someone to get data off of your device.    

My point was that by simply restricting your consumption to sideloaded eBooks doesn't necessarily keep them from tracking your access of that content.

[keriflur]

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doncr wrote:

My point was that by simply restricting your consumption to sideloaded eBooks doesn't necessarily keep them from tracking your access of that content.

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Yes, but this is B&N.  I have a sneaking suspicion that your overestimating their proactivity on this.  They're still having trouble getting their website search to work properly.

[TnTexas]

keriflur: Yes, but this is B&N.  I have a sneaking suspicion that your overestimating their proactivity on this.  They're still having trouble getting their website search to work properly.

LOL! True, so true.

[MacMcK1957]

Let's remember that this is a company whose software cannot get wishlists to work, or deliver a preordered book to your device without you taking the proactive steps of archiving and unarchiving the book once it is published.  A company that took six months to fix a well-documented and well-defined problem affecting a substantial number of brands of wireless router.  A company that, in short, has serious issues with the content they deliver to you directly.

You want me to believe they might have spy software tracking my sideloaded content?  I find that awfully hard to believe.

[NookGardener]

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keriflur wrote:

Yes, but this is B&N.  I have a sneaking suspicion that your overestimating their proactivity on this.  They're still having trouble getting their website search to work properly.

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ROFLOL!  You made my afternoon!

Seriously though, no, had no idea they were doing this but honestly, can't say that I am surprised about it either.  Doesn't every company track you these days (if they can) to be more "helpful" and give you a better "user experience?"  You're tracked on the internet, at stores, etc. Now if B&N was Target, then we might have something to worry about. http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-b...

[Reisnice]

I guess I'd be more surprised if they weren't tracking my reading habits. I don't guess it's too much more surprising than that they know my age, what breed of dog I own, whether I buy him fancy food, that I don't eat as healthy as I should, what types of medicine I take, (You didn't know that dog owners are typically more overweight than cat owners??), and how many pictures I've been in on Facebook. It's only creepy if you think about it...I too would be surprised if BN's IT and Marketing are quite there yet.

[kayokat]

This is a privacy issue.  We should be able to opt out. Why does B/N have the right to track how quickly I read, what I read, etc., without my express permission?  The internet has become one huge and out of control marketing tool.  Reading a book is a personal experience.  I recently read an actual hard cover book.  I'd forgotten how good it felt to hold a book and turn real pages.  I wonder how B/N would categorize that in their marketing database.

[Ya_Ya]

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kayokat wrote:

This is a privacy issue.  We should be able to opt out. 

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You can opt-out.  Go back to paper books.

[TnTexas]

Ya_Ya: You can opt-out.  Go back to paper books.

Ture enough. But the customer shouldn't have to do that in order to retain his privacy.